I recently became a member of the Land Cruiser club, purchasing a 1997 Lexus LX450 which is the gussied-up version of the classic FJ80. I can already admit to being a huge fan of this model, as it’s buttery smooth and seemingly does just fine as a “hop in and go” vehicle despite having 250,000 miles on the clock. This super clean 1985 Land Cruiser is a few years older and part of the FJ60 family, but has all the same appeal as a vintage SUV you can use for errand-running or trail-raiding. It comes with the preferred manual gearbox and a recent glass-out paint job. Find it here on eBay where bidding is at $19,200 with the reserve unmet.
I’ve loved the Land Cruiser for a while but found myself drawn to the FJ80 for its three rows of seats; an actual hobby vehicle I can put the whole family in. After years of driving two-door enthusiast cars, a growing family has made getting car seats into the back of an E30 BMW less than enjoyable, so a proper SUV with real off-road chops was the natural next step. The Land Cruiser is charming in ways its car-based siblings are not; while your average Camry has the soul of a vegetable, the trucks are charming, like a loyal Labrador Retriver. The seller’s FJ60 isn’t quite restored but it has had some valuable work done, and unlike most of the older trucks up north, this one appears to be rot-free.
The interior is also super clean, and the 5-speed manual transmission is a serious bonus here. The later trucks came standard with the automatic (a feature I, shockingly, don’t hate after years of only driving stick shifts), so the combination of a full-size truck with three pedals is quite sought after given there’s no guarantee you’ll find an FJ60 with this feature. The door panels appear to be in excellent shape, along with the dash, carpeting, and seat upholstery. The carpet is new but the seller doesn’t mention the other components being replaced, which is incredible for a truck with over 200,000 miles on the clock.
Other maintenance and cosmetic work includes new brakes; new tires; new front and rear bumpers from Toyota with new end caps; new center caps on all four wheels; a new shift knob; new marker lights, side markers, and tail light lenses; and more. The seller claims it runs well and four-wheel-drive works as it should and that it’s a great candidate for using as-is or taking the restoration all the way to create a total show stopper. Personally, this one already looks better than mine with its fresh paint job and new carpeting, so I’d be tempted to just take it and go and not worry about perfecting it further. What about you?
Nice write up on a nice truck but I have to disagree with you on Camry’s having the soul of a vegetable. I suppose on the surface it would appear that way, but older Camry’s have a soul and a following of their own. I’ve owned many Toyotas including two trucks and there is something to be said for a 200k Camry that still runs quiet and feels tight. The two year old Dodge minivan We are currently renting on vacation has more clunks and rattles than that 12 year old Camry we had with 200k.
Beautiful looking truck for the year and mileage but, I wish they would show the engine that would tell the story of it. 🐻🇺🇸
The youtube video that there’s a link to in the ebay listing has good underhood views with the engine running.
I have a 2002 105 Land cruiser in Australia. Just ticked over 840,000 km. Original 4.2l diesel with aftermarket turbo. Serviced every 10,000km.
I don’t get why we’re not allowed to have diesel engines for our SUVs and Tacoma trucks. I’d buy a Land Cruiser, maybe a Tacoma, if I could get it with a Turbo Diesel engine.
We can get you one in Costa Rica clean and solid !!
Sold these new … one of the descriptions we used were “it has square wheels” … but they were brutes – no AC, standard shift only, got shitty gas mileage … but we loved them … they were unique in the car world back then …
@ Charles Herwig: That’s fine if I lived in or near Costa Rica. But I’m nowhere near there.
Hi Jeff
Great truck. The real issue with the 60 series Cruisers is rust. I have two of them; it’s a real problem with them in the NorthEast. If this one has that taken care of, it’s a real plus. Otherwise the trucks are bullet-proof. The FJ62’s are known to have auto tranny issues, but I never had one and have owned several.
As Robert Says, rust is the issue. My 60 rusted away and my 62 was on its way when I sold it.
IIRC the transmission is only a 4 speed unless in came from Canada.
I drove a Mazda B2200 1984 diesel 4 cylinder natural for 20 years, loved it. At the time at least 6 OEM’s sold 1 but they didn’t sell, we diesel owners were like this little weird club that shared nodes at the (fuel) station and now the pollution equipment on the engine and vehicle maintenance costs cancel fuel savings unless you drive a lot.
I consider it damned unforgivable that Mazda stopped offering the B series pickup trucks with diesel engine. Marketing people are stupid. They say that people don’t like the diesel. Are they sure? Or they say that Diesels are unreliable. Are they? I don’t think so. What Mazda, and every car maker should’ve done is offer a service network to keep these engines running reliably.
I bought this same “Land Crusher” brand spanking new in 1986 – same color, same equipment – same everything. I put some silver pinstriping on it and some aluminum running boards so my 5′ tall wife could get in it. I paid under $16,000 for it. with the stripes and boards, I was still under $16,500. It was a Land Crusher for sure but very,very, impractical for a young family with 2 young children. As they say I was young and stupid then. Now I’m old and lets say wiser- with Grandchildren. I bought my wife a Buick Enclave a year or so ago and we are living happily every after carrying around 4 Grand Children.
Gee, Fred. I bought an FJ62 in 1989 and it was the perfect family car for us and the two kids. Granted, that model had automatic and AC so it was perfect for my wife. But it was such a roomy car that we can go on camping trips and vacations so easily and haul whatever we wanted from the big box stores. Like the way of all Land Cruisers, it rusted away to nothing a decade before its time with everything still working perfectly. I still have two that I picked up along the way and gave one to my daughter who loves it.